


In the Spaces Between

by Raelly



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alisaie best little sister, Bath Sex, Established Relationship, F/M, Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Highlander Hyur (Final Fantasy XIV), Hurt/Comfort, Hyur Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Love Confessions, Outdoor Sex, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Patch 5.3: Reflections in Crystal Spoilers, Self-Doubt, Shameless Smut, Touch-Starved, Urianger being a bro, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:54:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26067565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raelly/pseuds/Raelly
Summary: Post-5.3  Thancred/WoL one shots. The selfindulgence knows no bounds here. NSFW chapters marked.
Relationships: Alisaie Leveilleur & Warrior of Light, Warrior of Light/Thancred Waters
Comments: 12
Kudos: 93





	1. At the Moonfire Faire (NSFW)

**Author's Note:**

> Eeeeeeh, figured I'd just start a new collection to toss fics taking place post 5.3 into so... this.
> 
> IDK guys, I think I was just so wrung out by 5.3 my brain demanded smutty Moonfire faire vacation smut shenanigans. English isn't my first language, so there's probably mistakes that have snuck me by.
> 
> Aaaanyway, enjoy? I hope. :')

Thancred stepped carefully over the smooth coastal rocks, the surface hot beneath his bare feet. Gods, it seemed like a lifetime since he’d last been out in La Noscea. At Tataru’s insistence, they’d all ventured down to Costa del Sol for some ‘well-earned fun and relaxation’, a sentiment that none of them had been able to really argue against, not after their trials in the First.

“You seem to know your way around this coastline pretty well,” Thancred observed as he glanced up at Viana. The din of the Moonfire Faire lay a bit behind them– the noise still drifting across the calm ocean water to give the reassurance of other people being near, while still granting them some much desired privacy.

Viana laughed softly and cast a glance at him. A breeze made the dark blue pareo she had wrapped around her hips flare up, offering a tantalizing glimpse of her legs beneath. “Curious Gorge has his usual training spot not far from here so I’ve spent some time in the area,” she replied and motioned further up the coast.

“That where you’re taking me?” he asked casually.

“It’s a pretty waterfall,” she replied lightly, “but there's a road through the cliffs inland, so there are probably a lot of people there right now.” Just then, they reached a stretch of undisturbed sand.

Together, they jumped off the rock and landed in the sand just before a gentle wave rolled over their feet. It was a soothing contrast after walking on the sun-baked rocks for several minutes.

Giving him a curious glance, Viana shrugged. “I can show you it, if you want to?” 

But before she had a chance to walk any further, Thancred reached out and grasped her hand. “No need,” he hummed while pulling her closer so he could slip his other arm around her waist, as he had wanted to do all day but refrained from while they were in public. “I think I much prefer it here, my dear.” The warmth of her skin beneath his hand nearly rivalled that of the smile that spread across her lips.

A mischievous glint danced in her murky green eyes as she leaned her weight against him. “That so?”

The knot on her white top pressed against his bare chest, and he was immediately struck with the temptation to just dip his head and lavish kisses to the strip of skin bared between the bits of fabric, to taste the sun and salt on her skin. It’d be so easy to just tug her top loose, to free her breasts for his hands and mouth to explore. But he kept his gaze locked with hers and pressed his fingers against the small of her back. “Indeed,” he rumbled as he leaned against the sloped rock they had just descended from. The fabric of her pareo tickled his own legs, every ilm of his body relishing in how she fit against him. “The view is quite remarkable here.”

A delightful flush crept up on her cheekbones. “Can’t exactly complain myself,” Viana hummed and raised her other hand to caress his cheek. Immediately, he tilted his head up and they met in a slow, satisfying kiss that tasted of the sweet fruit drinks they’d had before leaving on their spontaneous beach walk.

Letting go of her hand, he briefly cradled her jaw. It was all he had to do for her to tilt her head so he could deepen the kiss, swallowing her pleased sigh as he did. Grasping her hip, he muffled his own low groan of approval against her lips, pleasure coiling down his spine when she brushed her fingers through his hair before holding onto his shoulder. Gods, he wasn’t sure whether to blame it on being so long out of his body, but since returning from the First he just could not get enough of her, as if his body craved her touch like it needed food and water.

By the time that they parted, their breaths came in laboured pants. Smiling, Thancred bumped his nose against hers. “You were really quite enchanting before,” he murmured and nipped playfully at her bottom lip. “Dancing with the others I mean.” Splaying his fingers, he dragged them up her back, skimming his nails over her skin, until he could idly toy with the knot at the back of her top. 

Viana inhaled deeply while her eyelashes fluttered, and he could sense the tremor of a shiver go down her spine.

The hand on his cheek fell to instead linger over his neck, fingers gently pressing. Pleasure instantly curled down to settle in his abdomen – surely she could feel how his pulse sped up beneath her fingertips. He wanted to touch and taste, to feel her wrapped around him, to hear her sing for him as she came undone.

“You’ve seen more advanced dances,” she retorted.

Thancred didn’t miss the husky note to her voice and chuckled. “Sometimes there’s more beauty in the uncomplicated,” he drawled before leaning in to trail a few feather-light kisses over her neck.

“I’ll take your word for it,” she breathed and wet her lips as she watched him with heavy lidded eyes. “Thancred….”

Grasping her hips, he turned them both around and pushed her back against the rock, the soft fabric of her pareo bunching as he dug his fingers into her curves. “Want you,” he rasped out while searching her eyes for the slightest hint that this was heading in a direction she did not want. 

But Viana just gave a short, eager nod. A deep flush coloured her cheeks and the greens of her irises were mere slivers around her wide pupils. “Yes.”

Instantly, his blood quickened. It felt like he was parched for water and finally, at last, allowed to drink to his heart’s content from a clear desert oasis. Wasting no time, Thancred hoisted up her legs around his waist, the rock she rested against just the right height that he could easily fit his hips against hers. His toes dug into the sand as he ground his half-hard cock against her, drawing a low moan from her. “Twelve, Viana,” he sighed at feeling the heat of her through the thin layers of their beachwear.

Instead of replying, Viana tangled a hand in his hair and pulled him closer for a hard, hungry kiss.

Thancred muffled a needy growl against her lips as jolts of pleasure raced up his spine from his groin. Another small wave lapped around his feet while a soft ocean breeze soothed his hot skin, though it did nothing to diminish the burning need that flowed through his veins.

His thoughts were quickly going fuzzy, hands tracing every dip and curve of her flanks as he slid them up until he could palm her breasts and tease her nipples into stiff peaks through the thin material of her top. He swallowed her pleased sighs and took more than some delight in how she arched her back to press into his hands.

Dragging his mouth from hers, he looked down to quickly – at last - undo the knot. Viana let out a low whine of protest even as she leaned back on one hand to give him more room to see. “Been wanting this all day,” Thancred rasped out as he pulled the strips of fabric loose from one another. A grin spread on his lips as he pushed them aside and finally closed his hands around her full breasts, slowly kneading them. They filled his hands so perfectly, the dusky peaks just begging for his attention.

Viana combed her fingers through his hair, nails skimming pleasantly against his scalp. “I noticed,” she murmured with a coy smile. What a pretty sight she made – cheeks flushed and eyes dark, bathed in sunlight and already looking delightfully dishevelled.

“That so?” he replied, letting his voice drop to something low and guttural. There was a subtle hitch to her breath in response, and she watched him from beneath her lashes as he swept his thumbs over her nipples, pinching and rolling them between his fingers. A low moan fell from her parted lips. Unable to resist the urge, he leaned forward to brush a tender kiss to her mouth. “Pray, do tell me what gave me away?”

She instantly chased after him, humming into the brief, teasing kiss. Her legs flexed around his waist, the reflexive jerk of his hips rubbing his straining cock against her heat. Twelve, he could _feel_ how her wetness had soaked through the fabric. “It’s in your touch,” she spoke into the small space between them. “It _lingers._ ”

“Hmm, guess I’ve been found out.” Thancred gave her a wolfish smile before ducking his head to mouth kisses down her chest, tasting the salt on her skin as he looped one arm around her midsection so he could rest some of his weight against the gently sloping rock. Viana draped her arm over his shoulders, cradling him close when he finally closed his lips around one pebbled nipple and eagerly sucked. A hoarse whisper of his name was muffled against his hair, urging him on to suck and lave his tongue over the bud while kneading her other breast. He could feel her shudder as her breath stuttered into small gasps.

“Feels good, love,” she breathed.

The praise made him preen with satisfaction. Humming, Thancred gave her a last, hard suck before quickly switching to her other breast. Sliding his free hand back down her side until he could slip it beneath the pooled fabric of her pareo, he traced the waistline of her bottoms with his fingers. “Gods, you’re addictive,” he murmured into her skin. A peal of quiet laughter was the only answer he received, while her fingers combed through his hair, the edge of her blunt nails sending pleasant shivers down his spine.

Growling low in his throat, Thancred gave her nipple a hard suck, teasing it with his teeth while he slipped his hand down to caress her. Viana’s fingers instantly tightened in his hair as a needy moan rose from her chest, and he couldn’t help but smile at her reaction as he felt out the outline of her folds through the fabric.

The desire to be buried in that silky heat tugged at him, urging him to look up from her breast. Smiling, he watched her eyelashes flutter, her bare chest heaving with each of her breaths.

“Such a pretty sight you make,” he rumbled while stroking her firmly. Instantly, she bucked her hips against his hand. In a fit of impatience, Thancred pushed aside the soaked fabric and dipped his fingers between her folds, coating them in her slick, just as she tugged at his hair and pulled him back up to her lips. Pleasure coiled hot and needy in his abdomen as they met in a hungry, desperate kiss, groaning into each other’s mouth. The muscles at his back felt coiled so tight with self-restraint, every ilm of his body aching for her.

“Twelve, Thancred,” Viana gasped and canted her hips into his hand. Smiling, he rested his brow against hers, their breaths mingling in the small space between them. The distant sounds from the celebrations reminded him that they were far from somewhere private. Though the rocks gave them cover and that there was little chance someone would come meandering this far away to start with, it’d been a long time since he’d been this risky with any trysts. A small shiver of excitement shot down his spine.

“You sound like you’re enjoying yourself,” he teased while slowly caressing her folds and circling her swollen clit.

She groaned in response while grasping at his shoulder and back, her rough callouses catching on his skin. “Can’t –ah – complain,” she breathed. The brilliant smile that spread on her lips made his heart skip a few beats. Laughing under his breath, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips, swallowing another needy whimper from her as he pressed two fingers into her. Gods, she was so warm and tight, already clenching around his digits. 

As he curled his fingers within her, seeking that one spot he knew would quickly make her unravel entirely in his arms, her nails painted crescent moons into his skin. “Gods-!“ Gasping, her body tensed around him, her legs brushing against his sides, a heel pressing against the back of his thigh. “Thancred-“ she began, but he ground the heel of his palm against her clit, and the rest of her words died in a low keen. Her eyes fluttered shut and she bit her lip, brow furrowed.

“What was that, my dear?”

Thancred watched with satisfaction how the ebb and flow of pleasure made her expression twitch, her bottom lip still caught between her teeth. He loved seeing her like this in these moments, to feel and see how she responded to his words and touches. It was always tempting to just drag it out a little longer, to see her grow just a bit more desperate with every minute and savour her breathy pleas. A thin sheen of sweat made her skin glisten in the sun and a few strands of her hair clung to her flushed cheeks.

Viana gasped out a hoarse curse just as a sea cloudkin screeched overhead and she snapped her eyes open to meet his gaze again. “You can tease me some _other_ time,” she rasped out.

Whether it was the hard edge to her eyes or desperate note to her demand, Thancred felt a hard tug of arousal in his abdomen, while his cock twitched within the confines of his swimwear. 

Yes, later, when they were locked away behind a sturdy door, he could take his time with her, make her writhe and beg as he gave her his hands and mouth, until her eyes were bright and needy and she pushed him back into the bed to take and give what they both craved.

With a throaty groan, he met her in a searing kiss. “As the lady wishes.”

Barely had the word left his mouth before her warm hands pressed against his abdomen, her nails scraping over his skin as she pushed down the fabric enough that she could free his aching length. Pleasure wound through him at the welcome feeling of her fingers working over him, firmly stroking him the way she’d learned he liked it. Thancred blinked as a guttural moan fell from his lips, and for a moment he was lost in her dark eyes that were watching him so intently, spellbound by the love so plain in her gaze.

Another jolt of pleasure ricocheting through his body brought him back to awareness. “Easy there, darling,” he rumbled and pressed his brow to hers. With a quiet laugh, Viana let him nudge her hands away from him, so he could line himself up with her. Sweet little moans were quickly carried away by the sea breeze when he slid the head of his cock between her slick folds, revelling in the sensation and how she soon impatiently squirmed, her breasts swaying from the motion.

“Thancred, don’t tease,” Viana whimpered as she tried to hook one leg around his hip to pull in closer. When he didn’t budge, despite his body yearning to give in to her demand, she huffed out a displeased noise and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Smiling, he trailed a few nibbling kisses along her jaw. “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he growled into her ear, relishing in how her breath caught in response. “I’ll give you what you want.” Grasping her hip with one hand, he hilted himself in her with a single thrust. Sweet, searing pleasure instantly coiled up his spine. Thancred hid his face against the curve of her neck as they moaned in unison – hers a ragged, desperate sound that pulled at what self-control he had. The silky heat of her enveloping his hard length felt like it rivalled the warmth of the sun against his bare back and he absently thought it was a small wonder he did not find his end right then and there.

“Gods, that’s good,” Viana rasped out in-between mouthing a few kisses to his shoulder.

Inhaling slowly, he nodded. She wrapped her legs more firmly around him, drawing him in deeper, and he dug his hands under her pareo to grab hold of her rear, the tips of his fingers under the fabric of her bottoms. “I’ll never tire of having you like this,” he groaned. Before she had a chance to reply, he pulled his hips back and thrust back into her, hard.

“Thancred!”

The loud cry of his name jolted right down his spine like a bolt of levin to settle with the rest of the molten need that coiled in his abdomen. “Shhh, careful darling,” he breathed into her ear, mirth colouring his every word, while slowly rolling his hips against her. “As much as I love hearing you scream my name,” he continued, punctuating the sentence with another hard thrust that had her dig her nails into his back and gasp out a ragged curse. “Wouldn’t want anyone to hear us, would we?”

He felt Viana tremble. “N-no,” she panted and combed her fingers through his hair with quick, shaky motions.

Grinning, he dug his fingers into the soft flesh of her rear and moved his other arm to wrap around her waist. “Good girl,” he murmured, then pulled her into another thrust, setting a hard, urgent pace. 

The sound of the waves gently lapping around his feet mingled with the wet slap of skin and her muffled sounds of pleasure. The musky scent of sex filled his nose, mingling with the smell of brine. Thancred nuzzled her neck, murmuring to her how good she felt, while Viana clung to him, rocking to meet every snap of his hips. It felt so perfect how they moved together in a steady rhythm. A selfish, base part of his mind wanted to kiss and nibble at the slope of her neck - to paint her skin with the irrefutable proof of that the sought after Warrior of Light already had someone who shared her bed.

With how her nails were digging into his back, leaving red ribbons in their wake that stung with the salt of his sweat, it’d be easy enough for someone with half a brain to put two and two together.

Unable to resist, he groaned and latched onto her neck, dragging his teeth and tongue over her skin, her gasps and moans like music to his ears.

“Than-Thancred—“

An insistent tug on his hair coaxed a throaty moan from him. Her muscles were squeezing around his cock, drawing him in deeper. Reluctantly, he heeded her and raised his head from her neck meet her eyes.

Viana’s gaze was glazed over with pleasure, her kiss bruised lips parted as she panted for breath. The press of her fingers against the back of his head urged him to crash his mouth to hers in a hungry kiss that was all teeth and tongue.

“Gods Viana,” he gasped into her mouth.

“You make me – ah— feel so good, love,” she whispered before turning her head to trail her lips along his neck.

Shuddering, he arched his neck for her, her mouth searing hot against one of his Archon sigils. A guttural moan wound its way from deep in his chest, and he desperately hugged her close enough that he could feel her breasts pressed against his chest as he rolled his hips against hers. Sweat pooled between them, the slide of her skin against his slick and wet.

For a moment, her motions faltered, falling out of rhythm with his, as she muffled a cry against the crook of his shoulder, desperately trying to keep quiet.

It was always so delightful how vocal she got. Urged on by the unmistakable feeling of her mounting tension, Thancred redoubled his efforts, hands sliding over her back, hips and thighs, grasping at her to keep her close to him. The pleasure was wound so impossibly tight in his body, and a note of desperation to see her finish entered his mind. “Come for me,” he growled, his jaw clenching with the effort of staving off his own end.

Another low whine was muffled against his shoulder, “ _Fuck, Thancred—_ “

He bucked into her, grinded against her, lost to the sound of her hoarse praise being seared into his skin, the warmth of her fluttering around him. Suddenly she went rigid, fingers digging into the meat of his back and arm, as she barely managed to bite back a loud cry, her nose pressed against the curve of his neck.

Desperate murmurs of her name fell from his lips as he chased his own end. It wasn’t far off, not with how good she felt in his arms, with her breathless voice by his ear urging him on with soft spoken praise. Her hand combed through his hair, leaving a trail of fire over his back in the wake of her caress, and then, he hilted himself deep within her as the white hot coils of pleasure burst. Bright, diamond-like sparks danced in front of his eyes as the euphoria swept away everything in his mind except for the feeling of her clinging to him.

Panting, Thancred slumped against her. Viana’s lips were soft against his temple and cheek, scattering small, tender kisses that eased him down from his high. With a pleased rumble deep in his chest, he slowly caressed her back as he nuzzled the slope of her neck.

“Mm, someone’s cuddly today,” she gently teased him before moving on to littering his shoulder with the same gentle kisses.

He huffed out a tired laugh, but nodded slowly. “Guilty,” he murmured, before just wrapping his arms around her as he raised his head. She met him in a slow kiss, her lips tasting of salt.

Slowly, their limbs heavy with the satisfactory, bone-deep weariness, they extracted themselves from each other. Despite the warm summer day, he felt almost cold without her pressed against him.

Thancred tucked himself away, leaving room for Viana to slide off the rock, but remained close enough to not leave her exposed. A look of discomfort flittered across her features as she readjusted her swimwear bottoms.

At the sight of her wrinkled nose, Thancred leaned over to brush an apologetic kiss to her shoulder. “Perhaps a swim is in order,” he said gently as he caught the straps of her top between his fingers to redo the knot.

Viana glanced down at him, her expression softening with a small smile. Fringes of her hair clung to her damp skin, and he was certain he looked no better himself. “Sounds like a good idea,” she responded.

As Thancred retied her top, pausing to ask if it was tight enough, Viana let her arms rest loosely over his shoulders.

“There,” he hummed. Before he had a chance to look up, there was the press of lips to his forehead.

“Thank you.”

Slowly exhaling, Thancred let his head drop forward to rest against her chest, while his hands fell to her hips. The cool water of a wave lapped around their feet before subsiding once more. He felt her press another kiss to his hair, then rest her cheek against the top of his head. After the fervour of their coupling, it felt grounding - relaxing and intimate - to just stand in each other’s arms.

It seemed far too soon that Viana stirred. Reluctantly he let her slip out of his grasp. The sudden glare of the bright sunlight made him blink as he looked after her.

She tugged loose the skirt around her hips, haphazardly folding it up before tossing it onto one of the rocks.

Glancing over her shoulder with a smile, she began wading out into the crystal clear water. “You coming?”

Thancred grinned and instantly gave chase, prompting her to break into a run of her own. It was such a simple and mundane thing to rejoice in her shriek of laughter as he swept her up into his arms, carrying her only far enough out that he could spin on his heel and drag her with him as he let himself fall back first into the cool water.


	2. Provenance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after they all awaken at the Source once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sort of drafted the first bit of this before 5.3 even got properly announced because someone discussed the whole 'wake up, bedmate is gone' thing and plot bunnies started hopping. >_>
> 
> Just a mix of fluff, brainworms and some headcanons. Uuuh, my WoL is a gunbreaker primarily. And it seemed weird someone had cut Thancred's hair while he was unconscious so I headcanon he cut it during the days after waking up. :')

It felt odd to wake to her room at the Rising Stones and not instantly have the lingering threads of sleep severed by a jolt of dread as her thoughts turned to the First. Ever since she’d done that first return trip after they’d defeated Emet-Selch, the concern and fears for what might have transpired in her absence had been her constant companion.

No, at last those fears lay behind her now, the First safe and secure and her friends finally returned to the Source, leaving her free to just linger in that warm, gossamer state between asleep and waking.

Outside her door, she could hear the muffled voices of some other Scions passing by, the noise comfortable in its familiarity. It pulled at her, dragging her up into a more conscious state. What time was it? It couldn’t be too late in the day. The mental image of a red pixie floated to the surface of her mind – hazy, as if the fragment of a dream but the conversation too crisp and tangible to truly be one. Burying her face in her pillow, she reached out one heavy arm to her side. 

Rather than another warm body, all she found was empty air. Startled, Viana jerked her head up from the pillow as a sharp jolt of concern cut through the warm haze of sleep. Pushing herself up on one elbow, she blinked against the bright morning light as she took in the vacant space in her bed and the folded back covers that showed that someone else had left it at some point. By the Fury, that she’d slept so heavily that she hadn’t even noticed him leaving…

Slowly, while grimacing at the soreness that still lingered in her body after fighting Elidibus, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. 

A glance at the chronometer told her that though it wasn’t terribly late in the morning, it was far past the hour when she usually woke – a rare indulgence in the wake of everything that had transpired in the past week. But aside from that the other side of her bed was disturbed, there was no trace of Thancred. The change of clothes he’d left hanging over her chair the night before were gone, as were his sleepwear. 

Viana’s brow creased in a frown as she slumped back against the stone wall. Whatever loose semblance of a routine they had settled into on the First, he had always woken her up in the morning, even if he had had to head right out the door for one reason or another. Biting her lip, she drew the covers up around her legs, a small prickle of unease in her chest. But, perhaps Feo Ul had visited his dreams too or he had just been eager to start exercising again or… 

A small nugget of trepidation lodged itself in her chest.

Or being back here at the Source, amidst the rest of their friends and colleagues, meant he did not want this between them to be known. “That seem unlikely,” she muttered under her breath, all while she stared down at the empty space in her bed, as if she’d somehow find a clue as to why he’d disappeared like a ghost with the early morning light.

Though they had both thought it was for the best to keep things discrete and professional in public, it was not as if any of their friends who had been in the First had not noticed things. Or had returning here, to familiar environments and old admirers made him realise what he thought he felt was not true? Her stomach sank. Maybe his admission the night prior had made him realise that it’d all just been born out of being stuck on the First for over five years, that it’d all just been a mistake.

Her frown deepened as she worried the edge of the bedcover between her fingers, but then shook her head.

No, she was just letting her thoughts run off with her.

Before she had a chance to move from her spot on the bed, the door handle turned. For a brief moment, she fully expected it to be Alisaie coming to prod her into a sparring session, or a concerned Tataru wanting to check on her. Instead it was Thancred that slipped into her room, dressed in a loose tunic and trouser, with his long hair tied back and a tray in hand.

“Ah, you’re awake,” he greeted her with a small smile as he nudged the door close with his foot. But then his expression hardened with concern. “Is something wrong?”

Exhaling slowly, Viana shook her head. “No love, nothing’s wrong,” she replied with a soft smile. “Just wondered where you’d gone.”

Thancred put down the tray – crammed full with scrambled eggs, pork, porridge, fresh fruits and vegetables and, lastly, a pot of tea - onto her small night table. Her mouth watered at the scent, but her attention remained on Thancred.

“You were sleeping so soundly, I thought I’d make myself useful and get some food before everyone else ate it,” he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

Viana shuffled over to press a kiss to his jaw. “You spoil me,” she spoke gently while twining his loose hair between her fingers. “I take it you haven’t eaten then?”

“Only a piece of bread while speaking to F’lhaminn,” he replied casually. “It would seem that she’s taking Krile’s orders about us all having ‘months to years of no proper sustenance’ to make up for, quite seriously.” 

A thread of sombreness settled in her chest, and she ducked her head to brush another kiss to his skin above the collar of his shirt. Merely sliding her hand down his arm was enough of a reminder of how much leaner he was after lying stationary for so long – the contrast all the sharper to how she remembered how his body had felt under her hands on the First.

But before she had a chance to urge him to take it easy, or tell him about Feo Ul, Thancred wrapped his arms around her and pulled her with him as he sprawled out onto the bed once more, rolling to pin her beneath him. Light-hearted laughter shook her as she squirmed in his hold, not really trying to get out of his tight his grip. Chuckling, he nuzzled his nose against the underside of her chin and scattered kisses over her neck, nipping playfully every single time she protested amidst her laughter.

It was barely that she noticed one of his hands slipping beneath her nightshirt, until he skimmed it up over the side of her stomach in a feather light caress. “Thancred!” she squawked out and tensed up while trying in vain to arch away from the ticklish touch. She could feel the curve of his smile against her skin as he laughed, undeterred by her trying to bat away his questing hand.

With an indignant squeak, Viana shifted her weight and rolled him over onto his back. Straddling his stomach, she quickly caught his hand by the wrist to stop him from tickling her. Her heart was racing and her cheeks burned as she, with a pout probably more becoming of someone a quarter of her age, frowned down at him.

But it was hard to hold onto her ire when laughter still shook him as he blinked up at her with a grin, his long silver hair fanning out beneath him on the bed. For a moment her breath caught at just how Twelves-damned handsome he looked right then – safe and whole, happy and relaxed.

“Forgive me, I couldn’t resist,” he chuckled and slipped his hand from her grip to instead grasp it. Gently, he brushed a kiss to her fingertips, amusement still dancing in his eyes.

“Awfully playful for someone who had their soul restored to their body a mere day ago,” she huffed out.

Thancred hummed and sat up, placing another apologetic kiss to her lips, and with that gesture she was unable to fight back the smile anymore. 

“Perhaps this weary old soul just feels a tad younger, being back in his body,” he replied.

Draping her arms over his shoulders, Viana raised an eyebrow and snorted, “You sound like G’raha.” 

“Well, he’s got a few hundred years on me, I suppose,” Thancred drawled while wrapping his arms around her. A warm, fluttering sense of contentment bloomed in her chest when he fell back against the bed, keeping her in his embrace.

Propping herself up on her elbows against the mattress on either side of his head, she peered down at him while idly twining a lock of silver hair between her fingers. “Are you feeling alright then? No dizzy spells or flashes of pain?”

“None whatsoever,” he replied.

She narrowed her eyes at him, the memory of how he’d withheld the information about them on the First all too fresh in her mind.

Thancred obviously picked up on her doubt, for he leaned up to brush a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “I promise, I have felt no side-effects since I awoke yesterday.”

Finally allowing herself to relax, Viana nodded. “I’m glad.” With the immediate concern of his well-being out of the way, the memory of speaking with Feo Ul pushed to the forefront of her mind. Viana contemplate him as she brushed back a few tresses of his long bangs from his face and ran her fingertip down his nose bridge, then traced his cheekbone. It was strange to suss out where to start with the dream-like memory, and how to best broach the subject.

After a few heartbeats, Thancred raised an eyebrow and squeezed her waist. “What’s on your mind?”

With a quiet, thoughtful hum she tilted her head to the side. “Feo Ul came to me in my sleep last night.”

Instantly, a more solemn look settled over his features and she could feel his arm tighten around her. “They were in my dreams too,” he murmured as there was a flicker of pain and sorrow in his eyes. A quiet sadness settle in her chest, mirroring what she could only imagine that he felt, and with a understanding smile Viana caressed his cheek with the back of her fingers. His expression softened a bit as he tilted his head into the touch. A faint smile curled the corner of his mouth, while his hands idly roamed over her waist, as if trying to reassure himself. “They said they’d let Ryne know that it all went fine and that we’re all safe.”

“Yes, they told me the same,” she responded softly and slowly combed her fingers through his hair while letting her fingertips press against his scalp in the way she’d learned he found relaxing. “She’s not alone, Thancred.”

Exhaling slowly, Thancred nodded. “No, I know. She’s got Gaia, and that Traynor kid, and captain Lyna and the miners in Amh Araeng. I know we both have our own duties to see to – and that she arguably doesn’t need me underfoot anymore.”

“And yet, it’s perfectly fine to miss her and be concerned for her well-being,” Viana added. “Twelve know that I do.”

That sharp, attentive look reappeared in his eyes once more. “You’ll head back and help them finish their work with Eden, yes?” he asked, as if they had not already had this conversation before. “Gaia’s ‘Fairy’ is still an issue after all.” For all his claims towards that Ryne did not need him anymore, it was endearing how much he could worry.

“Of course I will, so stop ruffling your feathers, my dear ‘father bird’,” she tutted and leaned down to press her lips to the small furrow between his brows.

Thancred huffed out a quiet laugh, his hot breath a tickle against her throat, and she finally felt him relax beneath her once more. One of his hands slid up her back to settle between her shoulder blades, warm and heavy, hugging her close. “Forgive me; I know you’re not one to leave things unfinished.”

“No, I am not,” she chuckled as she finally crawled off him. Thancred sat up as well, keeping one arm over her stomach as he dropped a kiss to the back of her neck. Smiling fondly, Viana brushed her fingers over his arm. “But on the topic of the First,” she began while idly tracing a few pale scars – new to her, for he had not had them on the First – with her fingers. “I thought I’d ask you and the others if you’d like me to take some letters with me when I do return there? To tell people by your own words how you're all faring?”

There was a small pause, but then he nodded. “Yes, I think I would like that,” Thancred replied. She felt him place another warm kiss just above the collar of her shirt, before he rested his chin on her shoulder. “And I’m sure the others would too.”

She hummed and leaned some of her weight against him, torn between remaining in the warmth of his embrace and the increasingly hard to ignore temptation of food. A pang of hunger made her eye the tray of food. Just then, the sound of another set of familiar voices drifted in from outside - an immediate reminder of the world beyond.

“That was Alisaie, was it not?” Viana asked.

“Guess we should eat, hm?” Thancred hummed in response, but did not loosen his grip on her.

“Probably, yes. Wager she’ll want to get back to training as soon as Krile gives you all permission to.”

“Well, she’ll have to get in line,” Thancred rumbled as his arm tightened around her. “That is, assuming that I may barter my way into borrowing a gunblade until the Ironworks fullfills Tataru's order for one?”

Laughing under her breath, Viana turned and caught his lips in a slow kiss. “I suppose bringing breakfast have earned you that at the very least.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled with a grin. “And here I maybe had hoped the food might earn me _something else_ ,” he retorted, his voice dropping to a low rumble that made the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end.

“A few kisses and a gunblade isn’t enough, good ser?” she drawled.

“It’s always a start, sweetheart.”

Viana laughed and swatted at his arm. “Promises, promises,” she tutted before kissing him again.


	3. The Ties that Bind Us (NSFW)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That confusing escalation when you stumble upon something during one FFXIV Write drabble, want to write something proper with it, mean for it to just be short and fluffy, but then it turns smutty, and all too many feels creep into it.
> 
> There's some selfloathing language in here, just as a heads up. Those sort of thoughts don't just miraculously go away, after all.
> 
> As usual, english is my secondary language so you're welcome to point out any mistakes.

The warm water felt far too hot against his skin. Thancred sighed and shifted about, trying to settle and relax. The past day seemed like such a blur, nevermind the last few weeks by themselves.

How quickly their stay in the First had come to an end.

Urianger had left the communal bath area just a few moments ago, cleaned and with his beard trimmed back into its usual, more presentable state. Thancred cast a sour look at the basket Tataru had given him, where, on top of a set of clean clothes, his shaving kit lay as he had requested it, then held out his hand in front of him. His dismayed expression deepend when he, as expected, saw his hand tremble. Seven Hells, the others did not seem to feel the same fatigue as he did.

The unpleasant memory of his recovery after Lahabrea bristled at the back of his mind - of unsteady hands, weak muscles and how even the simplest of labours had left him winded. Hopefully he would not have quite such a long journey to full recovery this time, especially when he had to readjust his body to wielding a gunblade once more. Sighing, he let his hand fall back into the water with a small splash.

The sound bounced off the stone walls. Without Urianger around, the silence that hung as thick as the steam in the air made it hard to keep his thoughts from wandering back to the events of the past few days.

Had he said all he needed to say to Ryne, there in Nabaath Araeng, in the shadow of the crystal wall? Doubt gnawed at him, certain that he’d forgotten something, left something unspoken, held back a last piece of advice before there was no longer any time left for them. Had he even made the right choice, returning instead of staying?

The what ifs kept twisting and turning in his head, even though he logically knew that there had most likely been no other option than returning. Ryne would not have let him, or any of them, take that risk. But still, there was that small insistent voice in his heart, that he had not known for sure, that if he had just tried he might have found a way to stay.

Sighing, he sank deeper into the water. That both the women he cared for would say that they wanted him to be happy - in whichever world it may have been. Could he fully be though? Thancred snorted and shook his head to himself. "What a fool you are, Waters…" he murmured.

Idle hands made for a busy mind. No, he had his duties to attend to now, just like Ryne had her own path to make. The rest of his family needed him and he still had people whose memories he wished to honour here, on the Source.

A small, mournful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he imagined Minfilia gently but firmly telling him not to beat himself up so much. For once, thinking of her did not fill him with pitch dark sorrow and rage at the injustice of the world. The name he had once given her would live on in one world. But this world, the one a young girl named Ascilla had called home and fought for as a young woman, inspiring him and others around her to do the same, still remained unsafe.

Yes, master Louisoix had set him on this path, and he was determined to see it to the end in his mentor’s honour, to do what he wished he could have done by Minfilia’s side and uphold both their legacies. Despite how he felt like his heart was torn, one piece still safely tucked away with Ryne beyond the Rift, the path that lay before his feet did not feel wrong. And he was not walking it alone.

Gods, he just hoped Ryne was faring alright. Would Viana return to the First soon, to let her and Beq Lugg know how it all went? With how time flowed just a little bit quicker on the First, had they already spent a restless day - maybe even a night? - worrying that something had gone wrong? Thancred swallowed thickly around the unpleasant lump in his throat as he stared up into the roof.

“Thancred?”

The muffled voice was accompanied by a quiet knock to the door. Grateful for a distraction, Thancred looked towards it just as Viana cracked open the door to lean inside. Despite that her demeanour was happy and her body language relaxed, he saw the worry in her eyes, as though she still fully expected them all to drop back into a state of unconsciousness at any moment.

“Urianger said you wished to speak to me?”

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Had his dark mood been that obvious? Ah, Urianger knew him too well. 

Water dripped from his hand as he raised it and held out towards her. “Join me?” he asked.

Viana smiled gently as she slipped inside, closing the door after herself. At some point she’d found the time to discard her armour, now dressed in just the simple short-sleeved shirt, pants and high boots she wore beneath it. “You alright?” she asked quietly as she slid her hand into his and sat down at the wide carved stone edge of the tub.

Spark and jolts danced over his skin at the skin-on-skin contact. Everything had felt so sensitive since he had woken up, like his body was overcompensating for the time his soul had been absent - or his senses had been muted in the First, and now everything just felt too sharp and in focus. “No major physical complications so far,” he replied. Not a lie, not entirely the truth.

The feeling of her fingers combing through his long hair, gently pressing against his scalp, brought a low, content hum from deep in his chest as his eyes momentarily fell shut. A fraction of the tensions in his body melted away with the slow caress - a welcome distraction from his dark thoughts.

“That’s good to hear,” Viana spoke in turn.

Thancred brushed his thumb over her knuckles and tilted his head back to rest against her thigh as he looked up at her. Amidst the flurry of activity after they had woken up, Krile and Coultenet fervently checking each and every one of them, and Viana quickly leaving to return with a weak and dazed G’raha from the tower, they had not had much time to speak, much less so in private like this. Though he would have sought her out sooner rather than later, he felt a potent tug of gratitude towards Urianger for sending her to him, allowing them a quiet moment together.

There was a curious if gentle look in her eyes as she slipped her other hand from his. Carefully, she brushed back his long bangs from his eyes, her fingertips tracing his brow as she did. Thancred thought she would ask about his eye, about the lack of scar that he’d supposedly covered up with his bandana for so long. Krile wasn’t even sure what had happened, why his eye had returned to as it had been before Y’shtola had sent them both into the Lifestream, but he did not find much reason to complain. Too bad his ability to channel aether had not had the same courtesy to return as well.

When Viana just let out a quiet, thoughtful hum while running a finger over his left cheekbone, he relaxed and let his eyes drift close, all too content to enjoy her light touch. If he thought he’d felt touch starved on the First, by Thaliak this was ten times more intense. With one hand, she kept combing his hair back from his hairline with her fingertips pressing against his scalp, a gesture he had already found pleasant and relaxing then. Meanwhile her other carefully traced his facial features - a finger running over the small scar he knew he had by his hairline from a mishap in his youth, one of many that had not manifested on his soul in the First, then continued dragging her finger down the bridge of his nose, over his cheek, his bottom lip.

“I saw that Urianger was quick to tame his once more,” she mused quietly as she scratched her nails through the beard that had grown to cover his jaw. “Almost looks like when we found you Dravania.”

Thancred hummed in acknowledgment. Despite the warm water, a shiver rolled down his spine when her fingertips continued down over the underside of his chin, following the whole extent of the stubble. “Will shave later,” he replied quietly. Blinking his eyes open, he looked up at her and gave her a crooked smile. “Got time to join me in here?”

Smiling, Viana nodded and slowly moved to stand up from the edge. “Happily.”

A sharp sense of loss followed the moment she took her hands off him. Gods, he wanted her close, now. Discreetly, Thancred rubbed his hand over his face, like it’d shake him from this needy state. The rustle of cloth and clink of metal buckles soon filled the air.

“How are the others faring?” he asked without turning to look at her.

“They all seem fine,” Viana replied. “Wager Krile will sleep for a day once she’s sure you’re all completely recovered. And it’s good to see Tataru happy again. She’s already sent word to Lyse that you’re all back.”

Thancred smiled and nodded slightly to himself. Those memories right prior to his collapse were still fresh in his mind, despite the years hence. Knowing Lyse she can’t have been happy about being unable to do anything to help them. “It’ll be good to see her again,” he replied. “And what about G’raha? Are his soul and memories all fine?”

“Yes, though he seemed a bit out of sorts from fatigue, he could remember everything up until he transferred the last of his memories atop the tower.” There was a brief, strained pause. “I can’t help but feel like it’s a small blessing he does not remember turning entirely into crystal.”

The memory of the crystalline body of the Exarch atop the tower flashed before Thancred’s mind. He’d had his fair share of complicated feelings towards the man during his two initial years in the First, before Urianger arrived and his ‘prophecy’ brought some purpose to their stay there. After all that had transpired, Thancred could not deny G’raha’s devotion to the task he had set before himself when he’d been awakened from the tower in that far flung future - a task now completed. Still, the thought of slowly turning into crystal made Thancred’s skin crawl. Suppressing a shudder, he hummed, “A small blessing indeed.”

While listening to the rustle of cloth behind him, he let his thoughts wander back to their struggles across Norvrandt, of their fight to defeat the Lightwardens. It wouldn’t surprise him one bit if G’raha did accept Alphinaud’s invitation for him to join the Scions. Not with the obvious admirations he held for Viana that seemed to border on infatuation - one more gallant leader who’d been taken in with her.

Instantly, a cruel voice reared its head in the back of Thancred’s mind, one that whispered of how undeserving he was of her affections. An unpleasant feeling settled in his stomach as he flexed his fingers in the water, his mouth suddenly dry as he stared into the swirling shapes of steam.

There were so many dark, ugly things in his past, low points and mistakes that she’d been a direct witness to. When would she realise that he was damaged goods, not worth the gentle patience she always seemed to treat him with? Or would it be the veiled comments about his past relationships, insinuations that his eye would wander sooner or later - spiteful remarks from past lovers aiming to make her doubt his commitment to her? He’d never been unfaithful, had always made sure any partner he took to bed knew he’d had no interest in something more than a night’s fun, but that did not mean he had not left more than one broken heart in his wake over the years.

Thancred swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat. It had been so easy to forget about that on the First, to find solace in his relative anonymity and blank past there. In that world, he’d just been the Exarch’s mysterious guest, another sin eater hunter, and then one of the Warriors of Darkness. Not a street urchin from a pirate port who had failed far too many people that he claimed to have cared about.

A hand on his shoulder stirred him from his ruminations. Viana stepped into the water beside him, but before she could settle down, the urge to have her closer made him wrap an arm around her.

“Come here,” he rasped out.

Without a word, she let him guide her to sit sideways between his legs. Pushing out his breath in a shuddering exhale, he wrapped his arms around her proper, pulling her flush against his body. As if sensing his urgency, Viana made a quiet, soothing sound and draped her arms over his shoulders, hugging him. Gods, she was so warm and solid to the touch, like all those times he’d felt her skin against his on the First had been with a thin layer of cloth between them.

Thancred pressed his face into the crook of her neck, in what was perhaps a juvenile attempt to hide from the doubts and heavy thoughts in his head. Instantly, her shoulders shook with a quiet laugh that made his heart flutter and his chest feel warm.

“Your beard tickles,” she whispered, but did not move.

“My apologies.” Slowly, he slid his hand up and down her back and side in a languid caress, focusing on just feeling her skin beneath his fingertips. Had he been able to feel the small, almost imperceptible bumps of her scars before? The beat of her heart when he held his hand flat against her back? He could not remember for sure. The scent of her filled his nose - the warm, vaguely spicy notes he remembered now sharp enough that he could pick out the notes of vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon as they mingled with the floral bathing oils.

This was real. They were really back on the Source and he was really holding her in his arms for the first time - physically, not as a corporeal manifestation of aether.

After a moment, Viana stirred a little, and she felt her fingers skim over the back of his neck when she combed her fingers through his hair. “You alright?”

Thancred made a low noise of acknowledgment, “Am now.”

When she pressed her lips to his shoulder, he reluctantly loosened his grip on her so she could lean back enough to meet his gaze. Slowly, she blinked at him with a small smile, the look in her eyes gentle, like she too was thinking about how they’d never truly touched one another like this before. A smile of his own curved his lips. If only Althyk would grace him with his blessing, and let this moment last forever.

Suddenly, her smile faltered and she glanced away. “Perhaps it’s selfish of me,” she murmured somberly, “knowing how much you all left behind on the First, but I’m happy you and everyone else are back.”

Seeing her glum expression, Thancred’s heart broke a little. “We’re all glad to be back,” he replied firmly - it wasn’t a lie, despite the what-ifs that gnawed at him, he was happy to finally return to his own body and familiar faces. Viana nodded slowly, but her gaze remained downcast. Sighing, Thancred gently grasped her chin and urged her to look back at him. When she met his gaze again, green eyes wide with worry, he gave her a reassuring smile and leaned in to claim her lips for a slow, thorough kiss - the first one they’d shared on this world, he realised with a tightening of his heart.

It was short and sweet, her lips soft and pliant against his, the motions familiar to him. They parted to rest their foreheads together, breaths mingling in the small space between them. For a moment, they teetered, waiting to see if the other would speak, but then, like a fraying rope of restraint finally snapping, they crashed together once more. With a quiet, needy sound, she melted into the kiss and slid her wet fingers into his hair, tugging him closer. The itch to touch and explore urged his hands to wander over her, to reacquaint himself with her curves and memorize all the little new things he could sense. 

One kiss melted into the next, and quickly grew more insistent and hungry. He could feel his blood quicken with her soft sighs and her hands sliding over his shoulders and neck, the beat of his heart thumping against his ribcage not just an illusion by his mind’s expectations of his soul’s corporeal form. It was strange how he suddenly felt truly alive for the first time in a long while.

A familiar yearning followed soon after, winding through his veins to settle hot and heavy low in his abdomen. He nipped at her bottom lip, drawing a ragged gasp from her as he dug his fingers into her thigh and waist, and tugged at her to move.

“Thancred...” she murmured in between their kisses, a warning tone to her voice even as she let him pull and guide her to straddle his lap instead.

“I want…” he whispered hotly, fingers grasping desperately at her wet skin. The warmth of the water seemed nearly cold compared to her and the searing need that was roaring to life within him. His cock stirred in between them, and with a firm tug he got her to settle properly in his lap. Her breath caught, and a staggered, reflexive roll of her hips sent jolts of pleasure up his spine. Groaning, he bucked up against her, encouraging her to keep grinding against him.

“Gods Thancred-!” Viana gasped, the silky heat of her sliding against his hard length.

Everything felt fuzzy and out of focus, his thoughts muddled and throat dry as sand. A blind need guided his hands - touching, caressing, squeezing whatever he could reach. He wanted more, wanted to feel her, to have that intimate connection with her for real - something to anchor him in this world, lest he’d lose all ties with his body and his soul would scatter to the void once more. With a low curse, Thancred pressed his lips to hers, hard and desperate. “ _Please._ ”

She pushed her body flush against his as she met his hungry kiss with equal fervor, her hands leaving trails of levin over his skin. They rocked together, sparks of pleasure stoking the desire, molten and searing hot that rushed through his veins.

With a gasp, Viana broke their kiss and jerked her head back a little. It was barely that he managed to bite back a whine of protest as he blinked his eyes open once more to lean after hear. A deep blush stained her cheeks, but the desire and yearning he saw in her dark eyes was mixed with hesitation and concern. “Krile s-said - ah - said you shouldn’t overexert yourself,” she rasped out.

Thancred made a soothing sound. Turning his head he scattered a trail of kisses along her neck and collarbones, nipping here and there, each time hearing how her breath caught. His voice was low and guttural as he responded, “I won’t.” Squeezing her rear he then skimmed one hand up her body to take a greedy handful of her breast. A moan instantly tumbled from her lips as she grasped onto his shoulder as if to steady herself. Thancred teased her flushed skin at her neck with his teeth as he flicked his thumb over her nipple, relishing in how she shivered with need. “Not if you’re on top, darling.”

Weakly, she whined and rocked her hips against his, seeking that same friction that made his cock throb with need. “ _Viana_ ,” he whispered - _pleaded_ \- against the hollow of her throat, uttering her name as though it was a potent prayer. “I promise.” With how every fiber of his body felt sensitive and tingling, he was not even sure how long he’d last.

Viana dug her fingers into his shoulders while she seemed to have an internal struggle, torn between concern and the same aching desire that he felt. “Alright,” she finally breathed and skimmed one hand down his chest, her fingers light against his stomach.

A jolt of anticipation made Thancred’s heart skip more than a few beats. When she rose up on her knees, he quickly grasped her waist to keep her steady as she reached between them to wrap her hand around his hard length. Shuddering at the pleasure that curled up his spine, he flexed his fingers into her soft curves and barely managed to bite back a needy moan when he felt her line him up with her.

At the sound of his choked noise, Viana gave him a warm smile. There was a playful twinkle in her eyes, one that was all too familiar to him by now. Always attentive towards him, eager to see and learn what he liked and enjoyed the most. A fleeting thought passed through his mind, a half-formed yearning for all the nights that were yet to come when he could see that look in her eyes again.

The thought scattered as soon as it had come though. Slowly, she sank down on him, enveloping him in her slick heat. “ _Gods Viana_ ,” he groaned. His fingers dug into her waist, the urge to thrust up or pull her down or both all at once, making his entire back tense, but he forced himself to remain still and let her take her time. Taking deep and even breaths, he just rubbed his thumbs over her skin as he felt himself momentarily lose himself to the pleasure curling up his spine. How long had it been since he’d lain with someone on the Source? Twelve, he couldn’t even remember. Much less care.

Finally, with a breathy moan, Viana took the last of him and settled her full weight onto his lap. Shuddering, Thancred blinked his eyes open - when had he closed them? - to look up at her. 

A small, tender smile played on her lips as she peered back at him with hooded eyes. Instantly, his heart clenched with all the love and adoration he had yet to truly speak aloud to her. Smoothing his hands over her hips and thighs, he blinked up at her and mustered a charming smile. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, his tone even and earnest. 

It felt like his whole body was alight with pleasure, buzzing and simmering beneath his very skin. The wonderful sensation was only marred by the faint taste of bitter taste of regret on his tongue. Perhaps he should have waited for this until they were comfortable in bed, where he could see her properly.

The sound of Viana’s soft, breathy laughter distracted him. “Quite handsome yourself,” she whispered, her voice husky with desire. Her hands were wet to the touch when she brushed his hair away from his eyes, nails scratching through his beard before catching his mouth in a slow, searing hot kiss. It was nearly overwhelming how warm he felt surrounded by her and the water, safe and wanted. A pleased, rumbling noise rose from the back of his throat. Yes, this was what he had needed.

Slowly, she rolled her hips, her movements a bit uncertain. Delicious sparks of pleasure surged through his body, and he curved one arm around her waist, just holding her steady without dictating her movements. Let her set the pace, use him to find her pleasure. “You feel _magnificent_ ,” he mumbled against her lips.

Her fingers tangled in his hair as she began to move with more purpose, rising and falling, twisting her hips as she ground against him. “So do you,” she breathed. “So good, Thancred.” 

The pleasure quickly seeped into his mind, leaving it pleasantly fuzzy and void of any of the dark thoughts that had plagued him - there was just her, the wet slide of their skin, the taste and scent of her, their quiet moans and ragged breaths.

Hissing out a soft curse, she braced herself with one hand on his shoulder, her breath hot against his lips. “Th- Thancred, _mhm_ -!”

It felt like his heart was fit to burst. Thancred squeezed her ass, his hips rolling to meet hers as best as he could while still making good on his promise to her to not violate his medical orders. Molten heat simmered beneath his skin, coiling in his abdomen. Panting, he scattered kisses down her neck and collarbones. “That’s good, sweetheart,” he rasped out. There was a desperate jerk of her hips as she clenched around his cock. Through the haze, he could sense that she was close. While murmuring his name, Viana arched her back, her fingers pressing into the back of his neck as she cradled him closer.

Heeding the direction, real or imagined on his part, he looped one arm around her waist and lowered his head with a groan. He could taste the salt on her skin as he mouthed kisses down over her chest, lingering over the faint scar that crossed from one shoulder to the opposite hip, like he could do what healing magic had failed to and make it fade by pouring his love into it.

Water splashed as he slid one hand up her body, fingers pressing into every single dip and curve until he cupped one full breast. Kneading it, he scattered a trail of kisses down towards its dusky peak. Blood rushed in his ears, his heart thumping violently against his ribs. He relished in this - feeling her body shift and twist beneath his hands, how the sole thing that mattered to him right then in the moment was coaxing her closer to that sweet oblivion. With a guttural moan, he closed his lips around her pebbled nipple, sucking and teasing the bud with his teeth.

Viana’s fingers tightened in his hair as her breath stuttered, the graze of her blunt nails against his scalp and nape of his neck sending pleasant tingles down his neck. Her chest was heaving with every breath, her pace growing erratic, the creeping sense of desperation as she chased after her end making her lose focus. “ _A-almost_ ,” she murmured against the top of his head.

Thancred hummed in acknowledgment around her nipple and smiled to himself when she instantly hissed out a quiet curse at the sensation. A pressure was mounting at the small of his back, sending sparks of levin dancing up his spine, the tension winding out into his legs, signalling that he was not far off himself.

Dragging his tongue over her peak, he rested his chin against her chest and gave her breast one last squeeze before letting his hand skim back down over her body beneath the water. “I’ve got you, darling,” he rumbled, his voice low and rough with arousal. A low whine tumbled from her lips when his fingers found her clit and circled it, all while he murmured to her how good she felt, how much he enjoyed seeing and feeling her like this.

All about it was familiar and new all at once, sharper and in more focus, like the times they’d shared on the First might have just been very visceral dreams. Or maybe this was. He wasn’t sure, everything felt surreal and too real and tangible at the same time.

Viana grasped at his back and shoulder, desperately rocking against him. His cock throbbed, but he grit his teeth and instinctively turned his head up towards her. They met in a sloppy kiss, teeth clicking, their breaths mingling. That euphoric relief was so close, it felt like he could taste the sweet nectars on his tongue. All it took was a few more strokes of his fingers, and then he finally felt her reach her climax, his name falling from her lips with a broken moan as the ripples and waves of her pleasure made her clench around his cock.

There was nothing he could do to prevent himself from getting pulled over the edge with her into that blissful oblivion. The force of his climax slammed into him and swiftly carried his mind off to somewhere where all that he was aware of was the loose limbed weight of her in his arms.

Even as he slowly came to, his mind felt calm once more, no longer buzzing with intrusive thoughts and doubts. Viana had her arms loosely draped around his shoulders, her face tucked in towards the side of his neck. Much like him, she was still breathing hard, her exhales hot puffs of air against his damp skin. Humming quietly, Thancred pressed a kiss to her shoulder and leaned back against the edge of the bathtub with his arms around her waist.

“You alright?” he asked quietly.

“Mhm,” she responded.

Viana stirred and ghosted a few kisses over his Archon sigil, light brushes of her lips that left a tingling sensation behind. Turning his head, he met her for a languid kiss. “Thank you,” he whispered.

A crooked smile curled the corner of Viana’s mouth as she climbed off him. “I needed that too,” she murmured. Instantly, he missed her warmth and weight, but curved an arm around her waist when she instead curled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Her other hand found his, and he laced his fingers with hers.

“Hey…” Her quiet voice made him turn his head, just in time for her to press another quick kiss to his mouth. “I love you.”

How she could say it so easily still took him by surprise, yet Thancred did not doubt her earnesty when she did. There was a weight to them, one he felt keenly right at the tip of his tongue, burning hot where he had let them linger too many times over the moons they’d been together.

A mere heartbeat seemed to stretch out into eons. Slowly, it was like something in his heart clicked back into place, and things felt just a little bit more clear. This, between them, had not changed. “I love you too,” he finally whispered, and the words felt so right in his mouth.

Viana’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, but then her expression softened as a bright smile spread on her lips.

Letting out a breath he had not realised he’d been holding, Thancred flashed her a quick smile before he closed the small space between them once more. She met him half-way, and his heart sang with contentment as he kissed her. Come what may, he would face it with her.

A sudden knock to the door cut through the mood that lingered over them as surely as a sharp blade cut through a cotton sheet. They froze, blinking at each other like they’d both startled awake from a dream as harsh reality came crashing down around them.

“Master Thancred? Are you alright in there?”

Coultenet. Thancred cleared his throat as Viana moved to stifle her sudden laughter against the crook of his neck. “Yes, Coultenet, I am still alive,” he called out, grateful that years of practise let him keep his voice even and neutral. “Just doing as Krile ordered me to and taking it easy.”

Smiling, he brushed his fingers through Viana’s hair as he kept one eye on the door. If they got caught like some lovestruck Studium students bored of their homework, he was certain they’d never live it down.

“My apologies, I shan’t disturb you then,” Coultenet responded, sounding genuinely apologetic. Good man.

“Thank you, I won’t be much longer.”

They waited for a few moments until they were certain they were alone once more.

“Perhaps we should wash up before someone else comes looking for you,” she chuckled.

Thancred raised an eyebrow at her, smirking. “My dear, I wager they’d sooner tear through this place searching for you rather than me.

Laughing, Viana brushed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I suppose. Hand me the soap and I’ll get your hair.”

“As the fair lady wishes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I hadn't even planned on this being when he said 'I love you' but it seemed appropiate. Maybe clashes a bit with the previous chapter but this is why I don't write longfics. :)
> 
> Aaaanyway, hope it was an ok read.


	4. Pre-Bozja (5.3) (Alisaie, Thancred, WoL)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's that, the writing muse arrives back from the war? Amazing. Eh, I feel a bit rusty and think I got a bit tangled up in this one but I want to finish writing something so yeeted out the door it is.
> 
> Takes place prior to WoL leaving for the 5.3 part of Bozja. Some Alisaie and WoL platonic stuff with the usual Thancred/WoL, for some variation. :)
> 
> As usual, english is my second language and this is not beta read so you are welcome to point out any mistakes that might have slipped me by.

“I still wish I could go with you.”

Alisaie’s exasperated tone made Viana look up from her travel pack to offer the young woman a small smile. “And I’d love to have you,” she replied earnestly. “Both of you.” 

She looked over her shoulder to Thancred where he was seated by her desk. Clearly sensing her eyes on him, he looked up from her gunblade. The furrow between his brows deepened, but he turned his attention back to carefully cleaning out the disassembled chamber.

Not that he needed to say anything; it was obvious he shared Alisaie’s sentiment, though he knew there was no point in him trying to argue for it. Without a word, he’d taken her gunblade from her and sat down to clean it while she packed the rest of her things ahead of leaving early the next morning.

Sighing, Viana walked over to her cabinet. “But as much as I may want to have you by my side out there, I wager Krile would sooner physically restrain the lot of you than let you travel to a warzone.” She frowned at the small rack holding the pre-prepared potions, and picked up two healing ones, leaving one vial behind. Making a mental note to ask Tataru for a restock, she turned back towards Alisaie, just as she with a huff settled down on the bed, next to the open bag. 

“ _But I feel fine._ ”

Viana snorted and raised an eyebrow. “You say that now,” she retorted as she put the vials into their designated leather travel case. The antidote vial in the case was still nearly full so no need to get more of that at least. “But you don’t know how you’ll feel after a few nights of poor sleep, and several hours of fighting. A few starved and desperate gryphons are a far cry from an imperial legion and magitek units.”

“She’s right,” Thancred chimed in, his tone the same firm, matter-of-fact one he would usually take when he and Ryne were disagreeing on something. He didn’t look up from the cylinder he was reassembling as he continued, “We’re all still recovering physically. If we were out there, we’d be a source of distraction, and not nearly to as much help as we might want to believe.”

Alisaie threw him a sour look, like she felt betrayed by him not siding with her on the matter. For a moment, it looked like she might argue with him, but instead, she turned her head to glare down at the floor. “I know. I just…” She bit her lip, her shoulders tense as she dug her fingers into the bed cover. “I don’t like sitting here, _useless_ ,” she continued, her voice tense. “Especially when you’re walking into yet another warzone, and this time, you won’t have Lyse, or Yugiri and Hien, or anyone else you _know_ and _trust_ there to back you up. The last time I should have been...” She fell silent, but the unsaid words hung heavy in the air.

Viana paused, her chest knotting with sympathy and a faint unease - the memory of Ghimlyt still haunted them both it seemed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Thancred’s hands briefly still, before he continued tinkering with her gunblade. 

“You’re not useless,” she responded firmly as she walked back to the bed.

It did nothing to make Alisaie relax or cease with her attempt to glare a hole into the floor. Attempts at coddling were never appreciated by her, that much Viana knew. Hells, at that age, she’d never liked it when people older than her had tried to talk down to her either. But youthful eagerness to leap into the next fray, heedless of one’s limits, was always something to look out for, and gently but firmly redirect elsewhere.

Reaching out, she put a hand on Alisaie’s shoulder and squeezed. “The best you can do right now,” she continued, “is what will make your recovery the swiftest it can be. Running headlong into an dangerous situation may at best result in you pushing yourself beyond what you’re capable of at this moment, or at worst, you might injure yourself and just set yourself back even more.”

Finally, Alisaie looked up, their eyes meeting. For a moment, her brow remained creased and mouth pressed together in a thin line, until finally the steel in her gaze softened a little. “Well, I suppose moping about it won’t do you or me any good.”

Relieved to see her mood shift towards something better, a crooked smile quirked the corner of Viana’s mouth. “No it won’t.” When she felt Alisaie’s shoulder relax, she gave it another squeeze before letting her hand drift off it. “Besides,” she continued while lowering her voice, not really trying to keep herself from being overheard in the stillness of the room, “someone’s got to make sure Thancred doesn’t slack off while I’m gone.”

“I heard that.”

Thancred’s deadpan voice made them both burst into quiet laughter. And with that, the air felt a little less thick with tension.

As her laughter subsided, Alisaie’s posture relaxed completely. “Fine, I get what you mean.”

“I’m glad,” Viana replied and turned back to the parts of her gear lying on the bed. Picking up the bag she usually attached to her belt, she put the case with the potion vials inside it as she continued speaking, “Hien and the rest of Doma might not be able to aid the resistance directly, but Yugiri volunteered to personally run any messages I might have for you all. Alphinaud knows how to get in touch with her as well, should the need arise.”

“It’d be good to see her again,” Alisaie responded, her voice soft and a bit more cheerful.

Viana made a quiet, humming noise of agreement while continuing to pack some spare clothes into her bag. “Wager she feels much the same.”

A comfortable silence settled over them for a short moment, until Alisaie spoke up once more, “You’re leaving early, right?”

“I am, yes.”

A smile broke out on her features as she stood up from the bed. “I’ll leave you to finish packing then. Come say good-bye before you go?”

With a soft laugh, Viana nodded. “I promise. Sleep well.”

“Good night, Alisaie,” Thancred said lightly, his attention still on the gunblade. 

Alisaie paused with one hand on the door handle and glanced back at Thancred. “Don’t keep her up for too long while ‘saying good-bye’.”

There was a sharp pling of metal hitting metal accompanied by a startled noise, barely audible under Viana’s scandalised shout of the young elezen woman’s name. Before either of them had time to formulate a reply, Alisaie had already slipped out the door with a cheerful “Good night!” thrown over her shoulder.

Viana crossed her arms and stared at the closed door, her cheeks burning furiously. Of course she held no illusions whether Alisaie, or any of the others, remained oblivious to what was going on between her and Thancred - the sly quips and jabs from all of them made that quite clear - but the blatant insinuation had caught her entirely off-guard.

A heavy sigh from behind her made her turn to look towards Thancred just as he leaned down to pick up the small metal ring he’d apparently dropped. “Perhaps I should count myself lucky that she mostly holds her tongue in public,” he grumbled. “Not sure the shreds of my dignity would survive.”

It was hard not to quirk a smile at his grumpy tone. “She just enjoys teasing you.” A glimmer on the floor in the lantern light caught her attention and she moved to pick up a screw that had rolled out onto the floor. “Well, both of us, I suppose,” she added softly as she walked over to him.

Thancred murmured a ‘thank you’ when she placed the screw in his hand, but before she had a chance to return to pack the last of her things, he swiftly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her down into his lap.

Viana huffed out a quiet laugh through her nose, but he silently returned to reassembling the cleaned components, arms on each side of her.

“Not exactly the most productive working position,” she commented softly as she rested her arm over his shoulders and idly drew random patterns onto his back with her fingers.

“Works well enough, my dear,” he replied in that effortless, well-practised tone she knew was meant to mask whatever feelings he truly had.

She pursed her lips as she watched him work. For a moment, she considered calling him out on his bluff. It wasn’t as if they could avoid speaking of it. Which, if she guessed right, was precisely why he’d caught her like this in the first place. Sighing quietly, she dropped a kiss to the top of his head while still stroking his back. 

Thancred’s hands stilled for a second, before he turned his head and pressed his cheek against her chest, the arm around her back tensing. “A moment.”

She replied with a quiet hum and brushed her fingers over the nape of his neck, her eyes still on his hands. Usually she quite enjoyed watching him work like this; to just quietly observe his nimble fingers twist and turn the small components of a gunblade, fiddle with a lockpick, or merely playing with whatever piece of string or fabric that might be within reach while he was completely absorbed in a book.

Stuck as he’d been reading his old journals and Riol’s reports to refresh and catch up on events in his absence, learning the ins and outs of her new gunblade had given him something else to occupy his hands with. By now, she was fairly certain he knew it just as well as his own. Which was why, despite that it didn’t take too long for him to finish up, she had the suspicion that he stalled a little just to gather his thoughts. 

Finally, he held up the blade and gave it a critical once over, before setting it back down. With quick, efficient motions, he began wiping down the cleaning rods with a stained rag. “You need to refill your bottle with oil,” he commented while setting the rods back into her leather kit.

Viana glanced at the nearly empty bottle sitting on the desk. “There’s a flask of it in the cupboard,” she replied softly.

He nodded. “I’ll get it then.”

“Gonna have to let me up if you’re gonna do that, love.”

Thancred leaned back in the chair while his hands settled on her waist. He looked tired, his jaw tense and a hard edge to his eyes when he met her gaze.

It was a look that made her chest draw tight with concern. It felt like there was something other than just her impending departure that was on his mind. The silence stretched out between them, thick and heavy. Unsure of what to say to coax him into speaking of whatever was bothering him so, Viana raised a hand to caress his cheek before leaning down to press her lips to his in a chaste, hopefully soothing, kiss.

It was short and sweet, and a gentle reassurance that she’d be fine was right at the tip of her tongue, but they never made it past her lips. 

With a sharp inhale, Thancred chased after her when she tried to part from him, his fingers digging into her hip while his other hand was quick to cradle her jaw. He swallowed her surprised gasp when he tugged her down to deepen the kiss, the scent of the cleaning oil that clung to his fingers sharp in her nose. A blazing warmth rushed up the back of her neck, while her heart quickened its pace and her thoughts scattered under the all too familiar yearning that he so skillfully stoked within her. The warm touch of his hand swept up beneath her shirt, leaving a trail of sparks behind as he let it idly roam over whatever he could reach of her, while still keeping her securely in his embrace. It was tempting to just surrender to it, to bury her hands in his hair and let the unspoken words die in favour of that carnal pleasure every caress of his lips promised.

Yet she would not let herself be swept up in it - not when she could all but taste the hard, cold undercurrent of something bitter in his fervent kisses.

Finding her voice, she pushed her hand against his chest. “Thancred.”

Immediately, he froze. “My apologies,” he rasped out, his breath a puff of hot air against her lips. The hold he’d had on her loosened, and she could sense that he would not stop her if she were to try and get up.

Rather than doing so, Viana relaxed and rested her forehead against his while she caressed his cheek. “What’s on your mind, love?”

Sighing, he nuzzled his nose against hers, before he finally responded, “Alisaie is right.”

“Whatever happened with ‘We’re still recovering’ and ‘we’ll be more of a distraction than help’?”

Thancred made an annoyed sound at the back of his throat. “Twelve, I know what I said.”

There was something he was not letting on. His tone was too guarded. Idly, she stroked her thumb over his cheekbone before leaning back enough to take in the stubborn set to his jaw and furrow between his brows. Unease bristled in her chest, a sharp and prickling concern for what was weighing so heavily on him. “You did not seem this worried when I ventured out to track down the weapon projects with Gaius,” she ventured carefully.

His expression darkened with a deep frown. “Because we all knew that Cid and the Ironworks would watch your back,” he responded firmly. “But out there, in Bozja, with the rebel forces? Who knows what’ll happen, who the Empire might have bought off with pretty promises or snuck in amongst the rank and file soldiers? We have no idea where Zenos is either. I should-” He abruptly fell silent and turned his head to the side, glaring off at her bookshelf like it was the sole source of his foul mood.

Viana raised an eyebrow and nervously wet her lips as she let her hand fall from his cheek to instead rest against his chest. “I don’t know where your head is at right now,” she began slowly, while trying to think of the right words to say. “But we’ve spoken of this. We both have our own duties to see to, and I _know_ that you agree with me on the importance of that, so I can only guess that’s not why you’re bothered right now.” 

She felt his fingers press into her hip, and tapped her fingers against his collarbone in turn. He glanced back at her, the grip on her hip tensing for a brief moment. The muscles at his jaw shifted as he clenched it, until he drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled. When he lowered his gaze, he relaxed his hold on her. “Forgive me… I… think I’m not used to you going off on your own, least of all into an active warzone,” he murmured. “Usually you have one of the twins with you at least, or that I’m close at hand myself, or… you’re with some other ally we know and trust.” He made a vague, hopeless gesture with his hand. “Bozja may as well be on the First, for all that I - or any of us - can help if something were to happen to you there.”

Despite his gruff tone, the little ball of anxiety in her chest loosened up. With a soft smile, Viana cradled his jaw and sought his gaze with her own. “Thancred, you’re allowed to be worried.”

He glanced up at her, his mouth still pressed together in a thin line and eyes stormy with emotions, but the hard lines in his expression had softened out a little. “I know you can take care of yourself,” he added firmly.

Humming softly, she brushed back a few strands of hair from his eyes. “Just like I knew you could take care of yourself while you were tracking Elidibus.” Quickly, she leaned down to brush her lips to his. “That doesn’t mean I did not fear that every hour I spent here at the Source was several hours I was not readily at hand in the First if you all needed me.” 

With all that had been happening then, it had been hard to shake off the constant lingering fear that the moment she went to sleep, Feo Ul would be in her dreams to tell her that Elidibus had made his move in her absence, or that Thancred’s body had been found somewhere. Or worse, that they’d lost track of him entirely. Finding out later that he’d been hiding his dizzy spells from her hadn’t helped.

The memory of their hushed, hurried argument over that particular bit brought a bitter taste to her mouth. One bump on the road of them both learning and adjusting to being together with someone like this, but they had worked it out.

Thancred made a low, thoughtful noise that stirred her from her ruminations. Taking her hand in his, he pressed a light kiss to the back of her fingers. “Fair point, I suppose.”

Viana offered him a gentle smile. There was still some tension lingering in his expression, but she felt him relax against the back of the chair, his shoulders visibly slumping a little as he seemed to finally let go of whatever root cause for his mood had been. “You better now?” she asked.

He huffed out a tired chuckle. “I’d still be happier if we all were going with you.”

“Hmm, well, it’s like what I said to Alisaie,” she answered softly. “Best you all can do right now is to rest and recover. Fair chance there’s not much time before some matter or another requires you all out in the field once more.”

Thancred’s eyes softened and his smile turned a little rueful. “You too deserve some more time to rest.”

He raised a hand to cup her cheek and she leaned her head into his warm touch. She’d miss it in the coming weeks - miss all of them, now that she’d finally gotten them all back home once more. “I fear the world has other ideas,” she hummed. “It’s either now, or let the IVth legion solidify their hold on the region while the empire crumbles around them.” But he knew that - he, Riol and Alphinaud had all read the reports provided by the resistance just as diligently as she had.

Gently, Thancred pulled her back down for a slow, tender kiss that made her heart flutter in her chest and warmth rise on her cheeks. The kiss melted into another, his hand sliding up to cup the back of her head, until they somewhat reluctantly parted to catch their breaths. “I suppose barring the door is out of the question, hm? For just one more day at least?”

Chuckling at the rather well-worn joke - forever just a hushed whisper beneath warm covers they did not want to leave or a wistful remark in the lantern light on a eve such as this one - she pressed another quick kiss to his lips. “Afraid so, love.”

Thancred sighed softly, “Then I better get that bottle refilled so you can pack everything away for tomorrow.”

“We have the rest of tonight.” She brushed one more kiss to his lips, craving those small intimate gestures with him that she’d have to go without with the coming of the morning light. “Let’s make the best use of it.”

“That sounds good, my dear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to write something from Thancred's perspective while she's away. Ah, time and energy, why are you such a limited resource.


	5. A Lazy Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just something shamelessly fluffy to dig myself out of a foul depressive mood.
> 
> SFW, timeline ambigious.

Viana wasn’t sure what it was that had woken her up. Instinctually, urged by a well-honed sense of vigilance, she cracked an eye open, staring unseeingly past Thancred’s shoulder into the gloom, and just let her senses take in enough of the room and sounds of the world beyond it to make sure it hadn’t been something serious.

But all she heard was the muted calls of chocobos, only just audible in the stillness of the morning. Most likely a trade caravan setting out with the rising sun, she thought absently.

Relaxing once more, she yawned and promptly hid away her face from the coming morning light by pressing her nose into the space between Thancred’s neck and the pillow. His scent surrounded her, familiar and comforting, and the cozy warmth of his bed quickly lulled her back into a half-sleep state. Absentmindedly, she tightened her arm that rested over his midsection, her fingers curling in a lazy caress against his stomach, as she pressed herself closer to his back.

With a deep inhale, Thancred stirred slightly. “Something wrong?”

Making a soothing noise, Viana smiled at his drowsy voice. “Nay, nothing,” she murmured while nuzzling the nape of his neck, before brushing a soft kiss to it.

Thancred gave a quiet hum in response, and silence settled over them both once more. As she sank back into that hazy, warm gossamer state between awake and asleep, she was distantly aware of his every slow breath, and of how the tickle of his hair against the bridge of her nose was just shy of enough for her to be bothered by it.

Suddenly, Thancred moved, twisting onto his back with a quiet grunt.

“Hrrm?” Perplexed at the sudden disturbance, she let go of him and tried to give him room to move. Had she fallen asleep again? Was it time to get up? Squinting, her gaze automatically sought to find the chronometer on the wall. Confusion set in when she didn’t instantly find it, her sleep-logged mind forgetting that she was in his room, not her own. “What time is it?” she rasped out.

Instead of getting out of bed, Thancred rolled onto his side and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Still too early for me to care,” he huffed, pulling her back to him and absently pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Sleep.”

“Mhm,” she hummed, arching her back and stretching her legs, before relaxing back against the mattress with a slow, satisfied exhale. Lazily, they shifted about until they both lay comfortably next to each other, his arm a reassuring weight over her abdomen..

“Do you have anywhere to be today?” Viana asked softly.

“I don’t,” Thancred murmured. “You?”

“None.”

He pressed another kiss to her neck, before relaxing once more. “Good. Then rest.”

Viana nodded, already being pulled back under by the lure of sleep. It really was easier to sleep with him by her side.


End file.
